Grain or seed cleaner



Nov. 6, 1951 G. UNTERBERG GRAIN OR SEED CLEANER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledMarch 5, 1947 TOR.

VEN

ATTORNEYS.

' Nov. 6, 1951 UNTERBERG GRAIN 0R SEED CLEANER *Fil ed March 5, 1947 3Sheet-Sheet 2 ..v 7 mu ll II I Im/e n 1. 0 Y-, 45ml? BY 7 ATTORNEYS.

Nov. 6, 1951 G. UNTERBERG GRAIN OR SEED CLEANER 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FiledMarch 5, 1947 Jazz Adm ATTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. 6, 1951 "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Gustav Unterberg,Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 7 Application March 5, 1947, Serial No.732,499

This invention relates to grain or seed cleaner and the objects of theinvention are: (l) to build up and maintain within the apparatus at asubstantially constant pressure therethrough a current of air to bepassed therethrough and through the grain or seedscreen so as toget themaximum of eificiency in cleaning grain or seed, and the separation ofbroken grain or seed of weeds carried by'the air stream together withchaff and straw just before the latter are carried awayfrom theapparatus; (2) to crush relatively soft material, or to readily yield tohard material, as uncleaned grain or seed passes on from the hopper;without breaking this functioning part of the apparatus, and at the sametime keep the flow of grain or seed onto the grain screen from beinginterfered with by chaff or straw at the discharge end of the hopper;(3) to keep the sand screen from being clogged by broken grain lodgingtherein and so facilitate the passage of sand, broken grain, and heavyseeds of weeds therethrough; (4) to adjustably hang the interchangeablescreens so as to facilitate the functioning thereof by securing uniformdistribution thereover and controlling the time the uncleaned seed orgrain is-undergoing screening, and (5) to adjustably support-the meansused to keep the sand screen unclogged in relation to this latter.

Fig. 1 is, in part, a vertical longitudinal section through the frame ofthe apparatus andsupports for the upper and lower screens, and endelevations of the feed rollers and the driving gear.

Fig. 2 is, in part, an end elevation of the apparatus and of the drivinggear, and a vertical longitudinal section through the means to controlspacing of the feed rollers. I

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the controllin means for the feed rollerson the side of the.

the 'prefered form of "construction, but it must be understood thatchanges may -bemade therein. without departing from the spirit oftheinvention and the scope of the claims herein made.

section 3 Claims. (01. 209-318) In this apparatus wire screens ofsuitable mesh are used in preference to sheet-metal screens now usedquite commonly in apparatus of this class, for'the following reason: Tosecure the efficient functioning of apparatus doing this work it isessential'that the stream of air built up therein and passingtherethrough andthrough the screens shall be substantially constantthroughout its course; that no part'of the 'apparatus, such as thescreens, through which the current of air passes, shall have theeffectof increasing this pressure. With the use of sheetmetal screens ithas been found from very care ful observation that the air pressurethere against is greatly increased because the air cannot freely widely'pass therethrough with fth'e result that the pressure builds upagainst-said screens with the result that the velocity of the airpassing in' separated streams through the holes in these screens has avery high pressure with the result that such light grain as cats isblown away. To permit this relatively "light grain to pass through thesesheet-metal screens the operator must be on the alert and reduce thestrength of the air current to permit the oats to pass through, and withitv weeds and especially wild oats which will not be thrown out due toweakness of the air current. To overcome this faulty cleaning the aircurrent has to be strengthened thus blowing grain over the end of thegrain screen. This grain mixed with weeds is returned to the threshingcylinder, thus overloading the screen and blowing the grain intothe'straw pile 'or to the field. This faulty cleaning is particularlycombines.

In grain cleaners now on the market there is in use a sheet-metalscreen. A plurality of these screens, often fromvtwo to six in eachapparatus, is used. The current of air is guided through a narrowchannel between these screens and in its passage therebetween it has nomaterial effect in cleaning. It is only at the end of the apparatuswhere the grain is falling down that the current of air comes reallyinto contact with the mixed grain and waste matter. location is veryrestricted in size, and in combination with the very short time the aircurrent can act upon a given body of grain etc. the result, is that thecleaning method is not at all eflicient: In contrast to this old'method,the method herein disclosed shows that the air current" is the:- chiefelement in the eflicientxcleaning of the good; grain, and the saving inthe'loss thereof along. with the waste matter. Herein the air"icur'rent:

passes completely through the adjustable unnoticeable in modern Thislength thus removing much light waste matter before it touches thescreen, over the rear end thereof, and much of this light waste matterwill pass from the apparatus without further contact therewith. Somewhatheavier matter will pass through the said screen and will then be caughtin the full blast of the air current and thrown against the back of theapparatus, the undeveloped',fgrain j and.;w,eegl seeds being. thus-:=separatedfrom the'chaff 'and straw 'which will be carried on out ofthe apparatus. The heayy grain and seeds and sand will fall down ontothe adjustable sand screen where finahseparation of the grain and wastematter takes place. At

this step of the method theair currerit--hasnomaterial effect. a;

The frame of the apparatus may be of any suitable construction. As shownit may consist-"of vertical posts 2, tied together by the horizontal2e'; e:d$he;hr2 ner@4.;isupportedzby the bars fii UPPQl EQErQ 'thlhairS:i'l3 The rear side .liil s; hhe etus ll se yrclosed by: thecasing: 1, 5W2) 3 qniwl ehz-restszthebar 5:4. The board am-$ 1 190 fidby the-bars 3, 'and in-.-conl 2 Qmpletes;..the;.;closing.= ofz-the i i oiit hq. BQPQ FQWS sz-Eheygside qwalls 5.; close ihee ees -ltheeppartusrand. the bottom there- 9 see tl fl fi n yelihe I ilb Xii l UlwchuteI I,

pp0rt1ng:.-the..sand ereee (awa t irem I The wal-l 1.5, andthe eeec iobee-rd; sI-,fis;pa t y;.close :=thez front '5 of QQaQ PPV FWQ K-Fixedeen thjshaft? -.I.I ,z-su-itably ieerhell flbel w the harsh-hairoller l8.-'-:Fixed roll iuigsslendza) The 853 support. 21:: :(Fig:2).,

abracket 2] il .Through. the inner end-of the rod 2fiiopasses' epinisztl scarriedbyh-thez bracket :2 Hi.-

This construction permits said rod to pivot 'o'n said'lbracket. hMountedon.the=r.od.-2 6-, is a coiled spring'liil,oandtmounted. 0n:- theouterportion of said rod :to amply/embrace part of. the spring: 2-!

isacoiled spring 28.: .One end otthe springi 8'; is suitably attachedatotherouterend of). the. house ingaZL: and the other zendaof this:spring.- as; well as..the;outer endiofthe spring 52 Lare attached totheplateilfl,slidingLon-the rodr-26...-.- d3ivo,tedon the;-rod-.24,;-isialever 30, connected byaa.ohain-3l,eto.therod-26;..gi x: .:1L..-

28y means-50f the. elements described the distance .betweenthe :rollersI8, and 0canbe altered: automatically or. manually, tozisecure 1 afixed-distance therebetween; If: :hard .material such-as aestoneepor.relatively. hard materialsuch asia lump. of'idry .olay ishouldbe-fedebetween said rbllera-the-rol-len 20;.and2its'support.2I,-;'will-;move

ventlbreakageror .gradually .,b

aysfrom-the rollemlflrpass the stoneyand, preyreak up the lump or.

clay. During this operation the rod 26, and the spring 21, will be movedoutwardly. Since the spring 21, is attached to the plate 29, and alsothe spring 28, this latter will be extended. So

5 soon as the obstruction has been cleared the 10 :desired distance fromits fellow, and by means of its sector 300, the lever 30, can be held inany desired position.

Mounted on the shaft I1, is a pulley 32, and mountedrron shaft I9, ispulley 33. Mounted on l5 the trunnion 34, held in the plate I10,supported -by-a 'bar 3, isa-pulley 35.

Over these pulleys passesra.belt.36,.-which also passes over the drivepulley 31, mounted on the stub-shaft 3B. Keyed to the stub-shaft 38, isa toothed wheel 39, which 20 is in mesh with the pinion 40, keyed to theshaft .4111. Keyed-atozthisshaft 4 Iyare blades' 42, which, together!with/the. casing =1, constitute the blower 01::f;an.: If this:blow.er ispoweridriven the'shaft 4-I';ireceives, thepower fromrthe drive pulleylfl,

whereas-if :ther blowerris: manually driven, the

stub-shaft 38,- .willreceive 'llhQfIJOWGLFZiThBJ plate H 0},-iSICOHIIBCtBG, by a spring I1 I, with aipostfl', thus thebelt 364skepttaut: r em :r'iF: .i #Suspended below-the rollers I8, and 20, and

their: immediately-associated r elements, r is" 'the grain screen; 42-.-:(Fig. 1-) made 'of wire of-the desiredmesh. This screen' iswcarriedby'thefra'me .43; the rear end of -which issupported by -the rod44,:carried'byuthefront posts-:2, through theme dium of theibelbcranklevers"45,:pivotedone at each side-thereof. The :front endof the franie43, is vertically, adjustably supportedby the chain 46, COup1ed tO th6'b8;16. erThllS the horizontal position-oh the screenr42', canFbeadjusted-'a's re 40 quired;-.to:time control the.'distributionthereoverofwthe uncleanedgrain: :r: M

"The bell-:ecrankllevers 45, are coupled by the rods 41; to theeccentrics 48;keyed.to=the*shaft-4I: r Pivotallysupported' on-therod 49'is the -fr ame 5 5 0:: :Positionedc: to. reciprocate-v longitudinallywithinthe frame -I3 'carryingzthe screen I4, and the :frame 50; andimmediately: belowrthis screen islza cleaningidevice, theafunctionof"whichis to dislodge all material, such as broken grainrthat' 50woulda-clog. upr this. screenw: The keeping free ofanyrclogging-rup.-.isran important featu're 'of thi's invention..-:- Thecleaningw'device :her'inshowncomprises a plurality .Of' spaced scrapingbars' fi I which are suitably carried by longitudinal supportsz;52:-:These-scraping::barsware preferably bedded-in the-supports52-;andproject thereabove' equal distances so that. inoperation theylightly scrape or brush against ithe under side 'of the screen :I .4'.Tocincrease the efiiciency -of:these' bars 0 51711311611workingvtopsrare crowned as: shown clearly" in Fig; 6;. Theseribars .51,together withthe supports252'; are use'd" to form acframeyand this frame:has longitudinal:movemenvwithin the frames: I3; and r. 50; :aTo."provide' for this: move ment any suitable means mayzbe employedn Thepreferredizmeans consistsrmf metal" plates "53, placed at each cornemofithe -franfe-composed' 'of 5;I.-',a:and-: 52;: and' securedto 52 Theseplates i 53, rest upon plates 54, carriediby th'e frame 'iifl', and

togetherzwith .the' bars 5 I r and supports 52;have

7 5 ehownrzanr-extension 55," ct -the framedfli rests upon a bar 56,adjustably held in the sector 51,

suitably supported. The adjustable character of the screen I4, permitstime control of the dis tribution thereover of the material thereon.

Keyed to the stub-shaft 38, is the eccentric 58 (Fig. l), which iscoupled to the lever 60, keyed on the 'rod 49, by the rod 59, held inbearings 6|, secured to the frame 50, at each side thereof. Carried bythe rod 49, are levers 62 (Fig. 7), which are adapted to be rocked bysaid rod'49, and so move back and forth longitudinally below the screenI4, the bars 5|, to keep the screen free of any clogging matter. Anysuitable means may be employed to convey movement from the levers 52, tothe said brushing device. The means shown comprises pins 63, carried bythe supports 52, and between these the levers-52, are rocked.

The sand, etc., passing throughthe screen I4, falls directly into thebox [0, or 'ontothe sand board l2, and thence down it into the box. Thesalvaged or separated grain or seed passes into and from the spout 64. m

The separation board 1-6, may be extended longitudinally by means of theboard 65, slidably supported thereon and adapted to be held in anydesired position.

The arrows in full lines show approximately the path of the air currentthrough the grain screen 42', and through the apparatus, while thearrows with dotted tails show the pathof the material, too heavy to beblown away asit strikes the separation board I5. This matter slides downthis board onto the floor through the passageway between the sand boxIll, and the wall l5.

The arrows with crossed tails show the direction of movement of thechaff, straw, and dust, blown away by the air current passing throughthe screen 42.

The means to support the sand screen cleaner is of very simple andinexpensive construction. Any wear between the plates 53, and 54, may becompensated for by the use of shims so as to maintain the correctposition of the bars 5 I, with respect to the screen M. The taking up ofthis wear is important.

Because of the closed chamber below the sand screen I, formed by theside walls 9, said board l2, chute II, and sand box ill, the current ofair passing through the apparatus does not pass through the screen [4,enough to be diverted from its eificient path through the apparatus toits front opening.

Broadly classified there are three grades of materials to be separatedfrom the body of uncleaned grain by this apparatus and method- (a),heavy, (12), intermediate, and light, materials. The heavy materials arewhole grain and heavy seeds of weeds, and sand. The intermediatematerials are those recovered by impact against the separation board [6,and the light materials, such as chaff and straw carried readily away bythe air current.

The size of the mesh in the screen 42, is smaller than that of screenl4. These screens are interchangeable in use.

The use of the term brushing is herein meant to mean the automaticoperation of suitable means, such as the bars in constantly displacingblocking matter or materials from the screen H.

The lever 30 and its immediately-associated elements are located on theoutside of the wall 9, at the left-hand side of the apparatus. On theopposite side of the apparatus on the outer side of the wall 9 (Fig. 3),is located the means to "automaticallycontrol the relative positions ofthe rollers I8 and 20, at this side. Tomanually adjustth-e positionbetween these rollers at the right-hand side of the apparatussimultaneously the rollers at the left-hand side are adjusted, the rod24, is carried through to the right-hand side of the apparatus and isprovided with an arm 240, connected by a chain 24!, with its associatedrod 26.

Grains or seeds of different weights and shape must be controlled as tothe time they are passing over the screen, and the distribution thereofover the screen. By making the screens herein used adjustable, muchbetter cleaningof the seed and grain is possible, and wastage is reducedto a minimum.

Where the working undergoing cleaning drops onto a horizontal screenobviously there is poor distribution thereof thereover, and hence thecleaning eifect of the wind stream is not eificient. Unclean grain suchas wheat and peas, falling on the inclined screen 42, will be welldistributed thereover, largely because of their weight and shape. Butthis inclination of said screen will have to be increased enough tosecure good distribution of oats, and barley thereover, because of theirlighter weight and shape.

In use, the inclination or slope of the screen I4, is controlled by theoperator through the medium'iof the sector 51, 9 and the extension 55,according to the character of the uncleaned seed or grain to be screenedthereby.

To firmly support the frame 50, the sand screen l4, and bars 5|, the rod49, is suitably held in bearings supported by the bottom horizontal bars3.

There is a sector 51, at each side of the apparatus secured to the innerside of each side wall 9. The holes in these sectors are in alignmentwith holes formed in the said side walls, and held therein are the bars56, accessible at the outer side of said walls. By changing the positionof these bars the inclination of the screen l4, may be controlled. Thescreen [4, and immediately-associated parts are accessible through thefront opening of the apparatus.

The wind stream is also closed in at the top of the apparatus by thehopper 5, boards 5, and 6, and the board or plate I80.

I claim:

1. In a grain-cleaning apparatus the combination with a hopper, of afixed roller journalled at each side of the apparatus below the outletfrom said hopper, a housing mounted at each side of the apparatus, amember mounted in each of said housings, a second roller journalled insaid members, a rod hinged to one end of each of said members and eachpassing through the open front end of its associated housing, a platefixed on each rod near the outer end thereof, a coiled spring on each ofsaid rods with its outer end attached to its associated plate and itsinner end contacting its associated member, another coiled spring oneach of said rods embracing the spring thereon from beyond the outer endof the associated housing, the outer end of each embracing spring beingattached to its associated plate, and

the inner ends thereof being attached to the outer permitthe separationof one of; said ,rollers and its shaft horizontally f-rgm the otherroller and it a t; u t n a -,ho ,i on 1 m vab e late sl dtin w t One n oafix ro ;be 9wthe hopper; the other end of said platesupportedloy armssecured. to each side of said plate gend'and mounted on saidhorizontallytmovable shaft, said armshorizontally moving said plate tofacilitate i;

ing a housing closed by two side fiwallsprmeans supported by saidhousing to close the top thereof; anadjustable upper wire screensupported within said housing; an inclined second wire lscreen pivotedat its lower end to said housing well belowsaidupper screen; a closedehamber below said lower screen embracing the side walls; a sand box atthe bottom of saidchamber; asand board hinged at its upper end to theupperlend of said lower screen and restingon said sand box and meanswhereby the inclinationof said lower screen and sand board may besimultaneously manually altered to maintain an air current vof unitormand constant tstmn th through vsaid 1991 3 3- GUSTAV UNTERBERG.

.REFERENCES iCITED 'The' following references are of record-inthe fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 11,543 Beach Aug. 15, 1854127,788 Nesbitt June 11, 1872 183,059 Leach Oct. 19, 1876 282,720Gunckel ,Aug. 7, 1883 314,123 ;Hasse1busch Mar. 17, 1885 7 380,097 DavisMar. 27, 1888 642,006 Rousse Jan. 23, 1900 692,430 Critchfield Feb. 4,1902 1,365,304 Cleland Jan. 11, 1921 1,560,313 Pittman Nov. 3, 19251,663,027 Sorensen Mar. 20, 1928 1,667,611 Thompson Apr. 24, 19281,777,661 Dellenbarger Oct. 7, 1930 2,120,613 Johnson June 14, 1938FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 492,785 Germany Feb. 27,1930

